Craig Hartsburg

Craig Hartsburg
Born	(1959-06-29) June 29, 1959 Stratford, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Birmingham Bulls (WHA) Minnesota North Stars
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	6th overall, 1979 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1978–1989

Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a retired Canadian professional hockey player and associate coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also coached in the Ontario Hockey League. Hartsburg has previously been an NHL head coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Ottawa Senators. He played Defence for ten seasons with the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL from 1979 until 1989, captaining the team for seven of his ten NHL seasons before pursuing a coaching career. Before going to Calgary, Hartsburg was the head coach of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League.

Playing career

Hartsburg played three seasons of junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, where he was a teammate of Wayne Gretzky's during the 1977–78 season. In Hartsburg's last two seasons with the Greyhounds, he averaged over a point per game. In 1977–78, Hartsburg represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, scoring five points in six games.

Hartsburg skipped his fourth and final junior season, deciding instead to turn pro with the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA in June 1978, as an underage free agent. Hartsburg amassed nine goals and 40 assists in his rookie professional season. With the collapse of the financially troubled WHA in 1979, Hartsburg was drafted sixth overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

Hartsburg played 570 NHL games, over ten seasons. He scored 98 goals and 315 assists, for 413 points. In 1981–82, his best offensive season, Hartsburg recorded 17 goals and 60 assists for 77 points, with a +11 plus-minus rating. He also finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting.[1] Internationally, he represented Canada at the 1981 and 1987 Canada Cups. At the 1987 IIHF World Championships he was named the tournament's top defenceman. He played in the NHL All-Star game in 1980, 1982, and 1983. Hartsburg's seven seasons as North Stars' captain remained the franchise record for seasons of captaincy until Derian Hatcher broke the record at the end of the 2002-03 NHL season, after the team's move to Dallas.

Coaching career

Following two injury-riddled seasons in which Hartsburg missed 103 of a possible 160 games because of hip problems, Hartsburg retired as a player at age 30 and accepted an assistant coaching position with the North Stars for the 1989–90 season. He then became an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers from 1990 to 1994. He then served as head coach of the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the 1994–95 season, before returning to the NHL as the head coach from 1995 to 1998 of the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1998, he was named head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim before being replaced in midseason of 2000–01.

He coached junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL for one season, before rejoining the Flyers as an assistant for two seasons. In 2004, he returned to the Greyhounds and served as the head coach until 2008. He also served as coach for the Canadian World Junior Team. He received a gold medal in the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, when Team Canada beat Russia 4–2. He was also the coach for Team Canada in the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships when Canada again won gold by beating Sweden 3–2 in overtime.

On June 13, 2008, he signed a three-year contract and was named head coach of the Ottawa Senators, replacing general manager Bryan Murray who had assumed interim coaching duties when John Paddock was fired on February 27, 2008. On February 1, 2009, Hartsburg was fired by the Senators, having compiled a 17–24–7 record during the 2008–09 season.

On June 23, 2009, the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League named Hartsburg its third head coach in franchise history. On June 6, 2011, Hartsburg stepped down from his coaching job in Everett to join the Calgary Flames as an assistant coach. On June 7, 2012, Craig Hartsburg was released by the Calgary Flames, but was named associate coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets only 13 days later.

Personal

Hartsburg and his wife, Peggy, have two children. Their son, Chris, is an assistant coach with the Silvertips, while their daughter Katie, is a speech pathologist. Hartsburg lists Gretzky as the best player he has played with, and Chris Chelios as the best player he has coached. Hartsburg's favorite hobby is fishing.

Career statistics

Playing career

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1975–76	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OMJHL		64	9	19	28	65		12	1	0	1	16
1976–77	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OMJHL		61	29	64	93	142		9	0	11	11	27
1977–78	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OMJHL		36	15	42	57	101		13	4	8	12	24
1978–79	Birmingham Bulls	WHA		77	9	40	49	73		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		79	14	30	44	81		15	3	1	4	17
1980–81	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		74	13	30	43	124		19	3	12	15	16
1981–82	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		76	17	60	77	117		4	1	2	3	14
1982–83	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		78	12	50	62	109		9	3	8	11	7
1983–84	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		26	7	7	14	37		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		32	7	11	18	54		9	5	3	8	14
1985–86	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		75	10	47	57	127		5	0	1	1	2
1986–87	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		73	11	50	61	93		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		27	3	16	19	29		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Minnesota North Stars	NHL		30	4	14	18	47		—	—	—	—	—
OHA totals				161	53	125	178	308		34	5	19	24	67
WHA totals				77	9	40	49	73		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				570	98	315	413	818		61	15	27	42	70

NHL

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
CHI	1995–96	82	40	28	14	—	94	2nd in Central	Lost in second round
CHI	1996–97	82	34	35	13	—	81	5th in Central	Lost in first round
CHI	1997–98	82	30	39	13	—	73	5th in Central	Missed playoffs
ANA	1998–99	82	35	34	13	—	83	3rd in Pacific	Lost in first round
ANA	1999–2000	82	34	33	12	3	83	5th in Pacific	Missed playoffs
ANA	2000–01	33	11	15	4	3	(66)	5th in Pacific	(Fired)
OTT	2008–09	48	17	24	—	7	(83)	4th in Northeast	(Fired)
Total		491	201	208	69	13

Junior hockey

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
GUE	1994–95	66	47	14	5	—	99	1st in Central	Lost in OHL Finals
SOO	2001–02	68	38	20	10	0	86	2nd in West	Lost in first round
SOO	2004–05	59	31	19	8	1	(76)	1st in West	Lost in first round
SOO	2005–06	68	29	31	—	8	66	4th in West	Lost in first round
SOO	2006–07	68	37	23	—	8	82	3rd in West	Lost in second round
SOO	2007–08	68	44	18	—	6	94	1st in West	Lost in third round
Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	OTL	SL	Pts	Finish	Result
EVR	2009–10	72	46	21	3	2	97	3rd in West	Lost in first round
EVR	2010–11	72	28	33	7	4	67	8th in West	Lost in first round

External links

• Craig Hartsburg's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

 

Preceded by Bobby Smith	Minnesota North Stars first round draft pick 1979	Succeeded by Tom McCarthy
Preceded by Tim Young	Minnesota North Stars captain 1982–89 Brian Bellows, 1984	Succeeded by Curt Giles
Preceded by John Lovell	Head coach of the Guelph Storm 1994–1995	Succeeded by E.J. McGuire
Preceded by Darryl Sutter	Head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks 1995-98	Succeeded by Dirk Graham
Preceded by Pierre Page	Head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1998–2000	Succeeded by Guy Charron
Preceded by Paul Theriault	Head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 2001–2002	Succeeded by John Vanbiesbrouck
Preceded by Marty Abrams	Head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 2004–2008	Succeeded by Denny Lambert
Preceded by Bryan Murray	Head coach of the Ottawa Senators 2008-09	Succeeded by Cory Clouston